Greer Garson was not one of those 17-year-old
girls who won a beauty contest and then ran off to Hollywood
to get into the movies by any means possible.

She was a mature and well-educated young woman who left her
office job to try her luck in the theatre and ran into a
stroke of luck.

When she burst onto the movie scene in 1939, the public saw
a warm and confident young lady
who was able to capture the hearts of a dour schoolteacher,
his sour colleagues, and an entire boys' school.

She is born

Greer Garson was actually older than most of the golden-era
actors and actresses who preceded her in the movie business.
She was born on September 29, 1904 in London (not 1908, not
Ireland), a day which Jane Austen had prophetically
mentioned on the very first page of "Pride and Prejudice."

She leads a normal life

Many Hollywood actresses were washed up by the age of
thirty-five,
but when Greer was thirty-five years old she was
just getting started.

By that time, Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson had a university
degree, a post-graduate education from France, an office
job, and a marriage to a family friend who had run off to
India to start his own career.
She eventually gave up her day job to pursue her dream of
acting on the London stage.

During her period in London she was in a series of dreadful
plays, but she made quite an impact on the theatre-going
public. She worked with Laurence Olivier, she met George
Bernard Shaw, and she even appeared on television.

While she was working in that office in London, the
soon-to-be-famous actor George Sanders was also
working there.
Here is a typical water-cooler conversation from those days.

SHEILA
But Eileen, they wouldn't have put him in a talkie
if his voice wasn't right, would they?

GREER
I don't want to spoil my dream-Ronnie.

GEORGE
Well, Eileen, you can always try to imagine that
it's me speaking his words.

GREER
Say, George, why don't you come and try out for a
part in my little theatrical group?

SHEILA
George? Act?

GEORGE
Me? Act? I'm hoping to be office manager
some day.

GREER
They need someone with a deep voice.

SHEILA
You know, George, if you had Ronald Colman's
looks you'd be a shoe-in.

GREER
Well, I think I'll pass on that movie,
but let me know how Ronnie sounds.

SHEILA
But I have no one to go with, except for that snooty
lawyer who keeps coming around to bother you.

GREER
Just imagine if you were Ronnie's co-star and you
met him and his voice grated on your nerves.

GEORGE
I think I'm actually better looking than Colman, you
know.

GREER
Talkies! Heavens, what a business to be in.

The story of my fictitious Sheila's subsequent visit to
Greer is told here.

She wastes a year in Hollywood

In 1937 Greer's world changed.

Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM, was visiting London on
business and he passed one particular evening at the theatre
watching a play called "Old Music." On the stage before him
he saw a most striking young actress, and the rest is
history.

He eventually signed Greer to a one-year contract. She
and her mother left England to reside in Hollywood and await
her promised movie career.

At this stage of her life she wasn't about to take the
insipid walk-on roles that were offered to her in 1938. She
waited patiently for the plum role that Mayer had promised
her, but it didn't come. In the meantime she suffered a
severe back injury and came close to being released from her
contract. No one at MGM had any idea what to do with her.

Here's the sort of conversation that must've taken place
at MGM many times during that dreadful year.

HOWARD DIETZ
Louis, what are we going to do with Garson?

LOUIS B. MAYER
Just let her sit tight for a while longer.

DIETZ
She's been sitting on her can for half a year
now.

MAYER
She'll get desperate soon enough.

DIETZ
Have you chosen her new name yet?

MAYER
I've got Claudine and Anita working on some ideas.

DIETZ
I was thinking, what about "Rita Redlocks?"

MAYER
No, no.

DIETZ
"Audrey Auburn?"

MAYER
Forget it, Howard.

DIETZ
Well, my wife thought of "Stella Stunbar."

MAYER
We're keeping the "Garson."

DIETZ
Well then what about "Gloria Garson?"
It's a damn sight more feminine than "Greer."

MAYER
She insists upon "Greer."

DIETZ
Good god! She's a prima donna already and
she hasn't even made a movie.

DIETZ
You think Garson would go all the way back to
England for her first movie?

MAYER
She's probably homesick by now.

DIETZ
That part's too small for her anyway.
She'll never take it.

She finally breaks into movies

As 1938 wore on,
Greer lost hope of ever having a career in the movies.

Myrna Loy had recently departed from MGM, and this left
a hole in a new production about a schoolmaster at an
English boys' school.
But Greer wasn't entirely happy with this opportunity,
for it entailed a relatively small amount of
screen time and it felt like a mere supporting role.
But a friend was able to convince her that she would make an
indelible impression as Kathy Chipping, and so Greer
took the job.

She did indeed make a marvelous impression in "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," and she
received the first of her seven Oscar® nominations. I am not
alone in believing that her performance in this movie, and
its effect on Robert Donat's character, had a bearing on
Donat's winning the Oscar® over the strong competition in
1939, a field that included Clark Gable in "Gone With the
Wind" and Jimmy Stewart in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

GREER
Shooting this thing out of order is very
disconcerting.
At least on the stage I can grow into my part
every evening.

DONAT
I'll ask Sam if he can shoot that scene in one take,
so you'll feel more at home.
But in our mountain scenes we'll have to do some of
our lines separately.

HENREID
And we have to learn to waltz, too.

DONAT
And just wait until that fireplace scene.
That's your big moment.

GREER
I'm dreading that one.
That scene is the reason I took this part in
the first place.

DONAT
Don't forget, it's your money scene.

GREER
Well then don't make funny faces at me like you did
in rehearsal.

She becomes a star

MGM kept Greer busy in 1939 with "Remember?", a very minor comedy,
but in 1940 they finally found a breakthrough role for her
as Elizabeth Bennet in "Pride and
Prejudice."

This popular movie convinced the public and the critics that
Greer would indeed fulfill the promise that she had shown in
"Goodbye, Mr. Chips."

As recently as the spring of 2007, Greer's co-star Marsha
Hunt said that "Pride and Prejudice" was the movie on which
she had the most fun.

She is in Technicolor

Making a movie in colour was very complex in the 1940s.
The "Technicolor" process was so expensive that MGM made
less than a handful of colour movies in 1941.
Greer's red hair and fair complexion were showcased in
one of those 1941 movies, "Blossoms in the Dust."

Greer's co-star was Walter Pidgeon, a tall and handsome
actor who apparently got his contract at MGM because he and
Louis B. Mayer had both been born in Saint John, New
Brunswick.
Greer eventually made eight movies with Walter,
the first four each earning her an Oscar® nomination as Best
Actress.

Greer already knew Walter quite well because they happened
to be neighbours, and they had worked together in several
screen tests at MGM.
I like to imagine that their relationship was similar to the
one depicted in "Mrs. Miniver," a
bond of warm friendship and respect that included a good
deal of teasing.

For example, when it was discovered that Walter Pidgeon
didn't know how to dance for the early scenes of "Blossoms
in the Dust," he and Greer may have had a conversation
something like this:

GREER
What do you mean you don't dance?
What will Mervyn say?

WALTER
I'll just blame it on an old war wound.

GREER
Maybe we need to rewrite your scenes.

WALTER
Can't you just dance around me?

GREER
Maybe they should find someone else to play
Sam.

WALTER
No, I don't really think you could get along without
me, Duchess.

GREER
Well, maybe they can build a platform for us to
stand on and someone can pull us around on it.

GREER
Maybe I should call up Louella and tell her
how you handle actresses.
She'll write up quite a column on you.

WALTER
Like they say, Duchess, there's no publicity like
bad publicity.

GREER
And your wife will find out.

WALTER
Ruth?
Oh, she'll just tell you to slap
my keister.

She becomes a super-star

When a popular actress is known for her romantic leading
roles, she probably doesn't want to portray the mother of a
college-age son.
Norma Shearer certainly didn't want to, and she had enough
clout at MGM to turn down the role of Mrs. Miniver when it
came along.

Greer didn't want to play the role either, but she hadn't
yet earned the power that Shearer wielded.
L. B. Mayer and director William Wyler appealed to her
British patriotism to convince her that she was right for
the part.

Mayer and Wyler were absolutely correct, for Greer won the Oscar® for 1942 and was
remembered as "Mrs. Miniver" for
the rest of her life.
(Norma Shearer made two bad movies in that year and then
dropped out altogether.)

Greer also married Richard Ney, the actor who played her
son Vin Miniver, and who was 11 years her junior.

Once Greer was on board with this movie, she and Walter
may have had a conversation like this:

GREER
Yes, and she's seeing that ski instructor.
Twenty years her junior!

WALTER
My goodness.
The lengths some actresses will go to just to hold
on to their youth.

GREER
I'll have you know that I insisted on you
for this picture, Walter.

WALTER
Well, after I got that Oscar nomination for you
last year, I think it's my turn to get
one this year.

GREER
Well, then I'll try not to steal too many of your
scenes.

WALTER
I don't like the name "Clem," though. Makes me
sound like a farmer.

GREER
Maybe they can change it to "Wylbur," or "Clyde."

WALTER
And we have a college-age son this time.

GREER
I know. I sure hope they can rewrite that
part.

WALTER
Well, they'll have to slap some pretty heavy
make-up on me to make me look old enough.

GREER
Or younger. We also have two small
children.

WALTER
But I don't relish the idea of having to kiss a
co-star who's almost a grandmother.

She makes a masterpiece with one of her idols

In the 1920's, Greer loved to go to the movies, and one of
her favourite silent stars was Ronald Colman.
So what a dream-come-true is must've been for her to star
with him in 1942 in one of the most romantic
movies ever made, "Random
Harvest."

Everyone seemed to have had a wonderful time making this
movie. Colman himself said that he was sorry to see the
experience end, and it was Greer's personal favourite of all
her movies. It held the box-office record at Radio City
Music Hall for many years.

Once in a while Greer would make suggestions for improving
the script.

GREER
You know, Mervyn dear, I had some thoughts on how we
might improve the ending.

MERVYN LeROY
No, Greer, we already have too much as it is.
It'll be hard enough just getting it down to two
hours.

GREER
I always thought it was odd that Ronnie should just
walk up to that little cottage and open the front
door. Isn't that breaking and entering?

LeROY
No one will care.

GREER
And would the key still work after all those years?

LeROY
The audience will love this ending, Greer.

GREER
Oh wait, I know. What if Ronnie knocks on
the door and finds that the old vicar is living
there?

LeROY
And then what?

GREER
Oh, I don't know. The vicar could recognize him and
ask "How's the wife?"

LeROY
No, we can't get Ivan back at this late date.

GREER
I'm just trying to stretch the ending out a bit
longer.

LeROY
Believe me, Greer, after you leave Miss Barnes at
the inn and Ron has started to remember, the
audience will be dying for a resolution.

GREER
Well then, what about this. When Ronnie opens the
cottage door at the end, I could be standing there
inside the house waiting for him.

I wonder what Walter Pidgeon said to Greer after "Random Harvest" had been released.
Perhaps something like this:

WALTER
Why couldn't you make that amnesia movie with me?

GREER
Well, you were off making that silly thing with Hedy Lamarr.

WALTER
Silly? Do you have any idea how beautiful
that woman is?

GREER
Well, Ronnie is gorgeous too.

WALTER
But he's so short.

GREER
He's been one of my idols since I was a girl.
Still is.

WALTER
And that funny accent of his.

GREER
Oh Walter.
I melt every time he opens his mouth.

WALTER
Well, Reggie and Bram Fletcher managed to be in
both of our movies.
I think Merv should've waited for me.

GREER
I wonder how Ronnie would've been as Clem Miniver.

WALTER
You know, Duchess, I believe I'm good for your career.

GREER
Well, don't worry, Walter.
I think there's a little spot for you in my next
picture.

WALTER
I'm not playing your husband again, am I?

GREER
Well, I wouldn't want to get typecast as your
wife.

WALTER
What's this one about?
I'm in the mood to be a private detective this time,
or maybe a pirate.

GREER
We'll be playing scientists.

She wins Nobel Prizes as well as Oscars

With the recent success of biopics for scientists Louis
Pasteur and Thomas Edison, MGM thought that Marie Curie
deserved the same treatment.

So Greer's next movie was "Madame
Curie", in which she plays the brilliant Marie Sklodowska
and Walter plays the brilliant Pierre Curie.
They were both rewarded with their second Oscar®
nomination in a row.

This movie was based upon the biography written by their
daughter Eve, suitably dramatized to make Greer and Walter
look good and to give them a sweet but nerdy courtship.
Eve Curie lived to be almost 103 years of age and
died just last October! (October 2007)

During the remainder of the war years Greer made another
movie with Walter Pidgeon
("Mrs. Parkington")
for which she received yet another Oscar® nomination.
And then the very next year she received her sixth
nomination for "The Valley of
Decision" with Gregory Peck.

Greer was now the undisputed Queen of MGM.

The war is over and times are changing

When the Second World War ended in 1945, Clark Gable
returned from active service to resume his movie career at
MGM.
And what better way to celebrate this long-awaited event
than to pair the King with the Queen?

Unfortunately, MGM didn't write a great movie for them, but
they did write a great tag line, one that Greer and Gable both
hated:

"Gable's back and Garson's got him!"

Even though I love this movie ("Adventure"), I have to admit that
it really wasn't worthy of Greer and Gable. The critics
hated it and the public avoided it. The small profit that
the movie made was not up to Greer's usual standard and it
was essentially her first failure.

She never again duplicated the success of those war years.

Greer and Gable didn't hit it off when this movie was made.
Gable preferred the company of co-star Joan Blondell.

CLARK GABLE
Joan, I can't figure out this Garson broad.

JOAN BLONDELL
Well, Clark, stop treating her like a dame.

GABLE
Thank god I have you and Lina to keep me
company.

JOAN
Greer just has high standards, that's all.

GABLE
She's stuffy if you ask me.

JOAN
Look, Clark, she seems to get a nomination every
year, so if you play your cards right maybe
you'll get one too.

GABLE
I deserve an award for putting up with
those stupid "love"-scene-screens.

JOAN
Just let her make this picture her way.

GABLE
And she helped that Donat bastard to beat
me in '39. She owes me one.

She is swept out to sea

Her next movie, "Desire Me," was
almost the nail in her coffin in more ways than one.

Where does one begin to list the troubles that ensued
during the making of this movie?

The script was constantly under revision or rewrite.

One of her co-stars, Robert Mitchum, was grumpy because
he had lost the male lead role to Richard Hart.

Mitchum and director George Cukor didn't like each other.

Cukor was eventually fired. Another director was
assigned.

Mitchum was also grumpy about having to work with such a
"high-brow" actress like Greer, for he had just finished
an even worse experience with Katherine Hepburn on
"Undercurrent."

It is a well-known story that Robert Mitchum would choose
his lunch with very little regard for his co-star in the
romantic scenes that he might have to shoot in the
afternoon.
Here is how I like to imagine Greer's reaction to his choice
of meal.

GREER
George, he's done it again.

CUKOR
Oh, come on, Greer. I can't tell Mitchum what to eat
for lunch.

GREER
Yesterday it was Roquefort cheese!

CUKOR
Mitchum doesn't listen to me. You know that.

GREER
Can't Arthur force him to eat his lunch in our
commissary?

CUKOR
Look, Greer, things aren't going well between Arthur
and me.
I think I'm going to be canned soon.

GREER
Can we at least put off those kissing scenes until
tomorrow?

She finally gets to try screwball comedy

The great comedienne Lucille Ball had always wished to
perform dramatic roles, and likewise Greer had always wished
to play comic roles.
Her big chance came in 1948 when she was once again teamed
with Walter Pidgeon in the comedy "Julia Misbehaves."

This movie made a small profit, but it really doesn't rank
alongside the great screwball comedies of the golden era.
For fans of Greer, though, it's an absolute delight.

Buddy Fogelson

While "Julia Misbehaves" was being made, the most
significant thing that happened to Greer was to meet the
rich Texan who would become her third husband. His name was
Buddy Fogelson.

Peter Lawford was one of Greer's co-stars in "Julia
Misbehaves," and one day he brought his good friend Buddy
to the set.

BUDDY
Peter, why did you drag me all the way out here?
I thought we were going to that new bar on Melrose.

PETER
I have a surprise for you.

BUDDY
Can't you stay away from your movie set for more
than two hours?

PETER
Wouldn't you like to meet Greer Garson?

BUDDY
Who?

PETER
What do you mean "who"?

BUDDY
Who is she, your new girlfriend?

PETER
No, Buddy. She happens to be the most famous redhead
in the entire world.

BUDDY
Oh, is that her down there? Yes, very pretty.
Now let's go. I'm thirsty.

PETER
My god, Buddy. When was the last time you saw a
movie?

BUDDY
Okay, Peter. So now I've seen her. Bring her to
dinner tonight if you wish.

PETER
No, that's not Greer you're looking at.
That's her stand-in.

BUDDY
Wow, look at that little number over there laughing
with those cameramen.
Are all the female crew members prettier than
the stars are?

PETER
Would you like to meet that girl?

BUDDY
You know her?

PETER
That's Greer Garson.

Victorian melodrama

Greer's last notable film (until perhaps 1960) was "That Forsyte Woman", taken from
John Galsworthy's great series of novels. She of course
played the delectable Irene, who is pursued at various times
by Errol Flynn, Walter Pidgeon, and Robert Young.

This time it's Robert Young who gets to kiss her the most.
In fact I'm not even sure if Errol or Walter ever get to
kiss her at all in this movie.

There was some concern over how the Queen of MGM would get
along with the Knave of Warner Brothers.
Here is how I like to imagine Flynn's conversation with his
manager just before he met Greer.

FRED
Errol, have you been drinking?

ERROL
No, of course not. ...Well, maybe a little bit.

FRED
Now, look, she'll be here soon.
You can't treat her like one of your nubile
starlets, you know.

ERROL
Look Fred, when have you ever known me to ---

FRED
Mister Gordon won't give you the Soames role if you
upset Miss Garson.

ERROL
I'm not playing that limp-wristed Bosinney-ninny.

FRED
Then let's start things off on the right foot with
Miss Garson, shall we?

ERROL
I'll show that bastard Warner what I'm capable of.

FRED
Just think of the alimony that you're still paying.
You need this job.

ERROL
Don't worry, Fred.
Remember, I've met the King and Queen of England.

FRED
Oh, here she is.
Best behaviour, now.

ERROL
As always.

FRED
...Oh, Miss Garson, how do you do?
I'd like to present Mister Errol Flynn.

ERROL
[He slaps Greer on the rump.]
Hiya, Red!

She tries to rekindle the Miniver magic

After this string of disappointing movies, it was
thought that perhaps the public would like to see what had
become of the Minivers after the war had ended.
This resulted in "The Miniver
Story."

One problem here was that one of the central characters in
"Mrs. Miniver," namely their son Vin, had been played by
Richard Ney.
Greer was not about to do a movie with Ney, since she had
divorced him only a couple of years earlier.

GREER
Maybe you should've played Soames.

WALTER
Even Flynn couldn't save that movie.

GREER
Robert Young was a good kisser, though.

WALTER
Yes, I pity the poor fellow, being saddled with
that tedious duty.

GREER
You know, Walter, I heard Sidney talking about
making another Miniver movie.

WALTER
Say, that's an excellent idea.
We could concentrate on my character this
time. We might not even need you.

GREER
I wonder if they can get Bogey to play
"Clem".

WALTER
We could call it "Mister Miniver Wins the War
Single-handedly."

GREER
Maybe you could play Mr. Foley this time.

WALTER
We need a good slogan though, like "Pidgeon's back
and Garson's nagging him."

GREER
But what do we do about Vin?

WALTER
Well, Dickie is probably available.

GREER
We could just explain that after the war, Vin
Miniver ran off to Hollywood and married Greer
Garson.